Literature and Languages

Welcome to the Division of Literature and Languages

Our Division encompasses teaching and research in a wide range of disciplines: English Literature and Linguistics, French, Spanish and Latin American Studies, Religion, Global Cinema and Culture. At undergraduate level, all of these subjects can be taken either as Single Honours or in a variety of programme combinations. We also offer exciting taught postgraduate opportunities for study in Creative Writing, Modern Scottish Writing, The Gothic Imagination, English Language and Linguistics, Publishing Studies, Translation Studies and Film Studies.

With more than 40 academic staff and over 50 research postgraduates, we foster a vibrant transdisciplinary research culture. We regularly host major international conferences—Association for the Study of Modern and Contemporary France, 2011; Association of Hispanists, 2012; Shakespeare Association Conference, 2014—and postgraduate students are encouraged to organise study days in their own specialist areas. Our research staff are leading experts in their fields and we have particular strengths in: Book History, Colonial and Postcolonial Studies, Creative Writing, Gender and Sexualities, Gothic Studies, Language and Linguistics, Literature and Religion, Scottish Studies. Our creative writing staff also give us important links to artistic practitioners in Scotland and further afield, who regularly give workshops and readings on campus.

Our web pages will give you further information on the full range of our activities. If you are interested in knowing more about our teaching or our research, please do drop us a line.

Professor David Murphy

Head of Division

Research in the Division of Literature and Languages has scored impressively in the 2014 Research Excellence Framework (REF). 81% of our research has been viewed as world leading (4*) or internationally excellent (3*). Our 3.01 grade point average for Outputs places us in the top third of institutions for publications within the English Unit of Assessment. Our Research Environment has been ranked as a 3/4* research culture for staff and postgraduate students, and in the new 'Research Impact' category almost 90% of our work was considered internationally excellent. Within the strong interdisciplinary context of the Division, colleagues working in Religious Studies, Modern Languages, and Postcolonial Studies were submitted to the English Language and Literature unit of assessment, while colleagues working on Film were returned to Communications, Cultural and Media Studies.

The Division of Literature and Languages is delighted to announce that, on 12 December 2014, Professor John Drakakis (English Studies) was awarded the title of Docteur Honoris Causa by Université Blaise Pascal – Clermont-Ferrand II. This prestigious title is one of the greatest distinctions awarded by French universities and is bestowed on scholars of outstanding international renown. John was rewarded this honorary doctorate for his world-leading research into Shakespeare, Renaissance literature, theatre studies, textual editing and literary theory. It was also a recognition of the research ties in the field of Renaissance Studies between the two institutions.

Working collaboratively and across disciplines, we offer a broad range of subjects to undergraduates and postgraduates on one of the UK’s most beautiful campuses.

The Division is located in the listed Pathfoot Building on the main University campus. Pathfoot is a fine example of 1960s modernist architecture and houses the Pathfoot Gallery, the University’s extensive art collection and visiting exhibitions.

Wide-ranging degrees

Integrated Honours degree programmes are available with subjects in Arts and Humanities, Management, and Human Sciences, including Education, with a BA in Professional Education (Primary) with specialism in Modern Languages.

We also run innovative double degree programmes with the University of Passau and the Ecole de Management de Strasbourg in International Management and Intercultural Studies. Within these subject areas there is a great wealth of choice in modules that will challenge and inspire you.

Dynamic research culture

Our research culture cuts across the disciplinary units of English, Modern Languages and Religion, and foregrounds their intersections. We work within a shared set of research groups, bringing together outstanding researchers to develop their fields. Our wide-ranging expertise comprises creative practice and the study of global literatures, languages and cultures from the medieval period to the present day. Members of staff work within a broad and innovative range of period and cross-period subjects, including medieval translation, early modern manuscript and print culture, romantic-era writing, Victorian literature, modern and contemporary literature, as well as linguistics, multilingual colonial and postcolonial studies, book history (including scholarly editing and publishing studies), gender and sexualities, Gothic studies, Scottish studies, creative writing, and literature and religion.

Thought-provoking and supportive teaching

Our award-winning, research-led teaching includes undergraduate, taught postgraduate, and research degrees in English, Scottish Writing, Publishing Studies, French, Spanish and Latin American Studies, Religion, Global Cinema, Linguistics, Creative Writing, Gender Studies, Translation and Translation with TESOL. We are committed to specialized, small group teaching, with a focus on one-to-one supervision, as well as to developing your skills to think broadly and work innovatively as a team. Many of our staff have been winners of RATE awards, Stirling’s student-nominated teaching prizes.

Research with Impact

In conducting our research we are guided by our policy to preserve and make public global literary and cultural heritage; to develop new vocabularies to enhance understanding of cultural values and practices; to inspire and educate readers and audiences outside academia. We engage in a productive and enriching dialogue with external partners such as the Africa in Motion Film Festival, the British Library, the Edinburgh Festival of Spirituality and Peace, the Scottish Poetry Library, the National Trust for Scotland, and many others.

International

We are an international and multi-lingual Division with students and staff from over 30 countries. For students on most degree programmes involving a language, Study Abroad will form an integral part of your studies, in places as varied as Chile, Quebec, Morocco and Switzerland. This is by no means the only way that our students spend time abroad as part of their degrees, though…

Whether you’re studying English, Religion, Global Cinema or a language, we encourage all students to consider applying for one of the University’s Study Abroad schemes. Many of our students also apply for English Language Assistantships via the British Council scheme. This is particularly attractive for students on degrees involving Education but is open to all and offers an opportunity to gain practical experience teaching English conversation classes in schools in France or Spain, or further afield for graduating students.

And we don’t just see this as an opportunity for students but our staff also regularly undertake teaching exchanges and we are always delighted to welcome colleagues from other Universities whether for teaching or research, or a combination of the two.

Employability

Literature and Languages graduates have had a particularly good rate of success in finding rewarding employment in a variety of fields with over 90% of our graduates in work or further study within 6 months of completing their degree (Unistats 2013). Recent graduates have gone on to work in fields as diverse as advertising, the civil service, teaching, public relations, publishing, banking, management and translation both in the UK and overseas. Our nurturing of students’ creative and imaginative talents has led to a number of students going on to have successful careers as novelists (Iain Banks, Alan Bisset), poets (Jackie Kay) and journalists (John McLellan, Grace Dent).

Our commitment to language analysis and close textual criticism helps to furnish our students with skills that give them a distinct advantage in an increasingly competitive job market. Our Languages graduates develop excellent communication skills, independence and self-reliance, and confidence in dealing with a variety of people, situations and cultures. Many of our undergraduate students also benefit from the experience of Study Abroad as part of their degree programme or from time spent working abroad as Language Assistants, and many of our postgraduates enjoy internships and placements with a wide and expanding range of organisations relating to the full range of our areas of study.

For more information about where degrees from the Division of Literature and Languages have taken our students, please see some of their profiles on our Viewpoints pages.